Search the Dictionary

To go side by side with; hence, to pass by; to outrun and get before; as, a dog cotes a hare. [Obs.] Drayton. We coted them on the way, and hither are they coming. Shak.

A low outwork before a bastion or ravelin, consisting of two lines of rampart parallel to the faces of the bastion, and protecting them from a breaching fire.

t, or throw, one's self upon the country, to appeal to one's constituents; to stand trial before a jury.

A court of record held once a year, in a particular hundred, lordship, or manor, before the steward of the leet. Blackstone.

To brood; to incubate. [Obs.] [Tortoises] covey a whole year before they hatch. Holland.

to reach forward with head and neck, in order to see better; as, a hunter cranes forward before taking a leap. Beaconsfield. Thackeray. The passengers eagerly craning forward over the bulwarks. Howells.

ull of spirit; brisk; lively; sprightly; overconfident; opinionated. He who was, a little before, bedrid, . . . was now crank and lusty. Udall. If you strong electioners did not think you were among the elect, you would not be so crank about it. Mrs. Stowe.

A garland carried before the bier of a maiden. [Obs.] Yet here she is allowed her virgin crants, Her maaiden strewments. Shak.

m. Shak. As when a new particle of matter dotn begin to exist, in rerum natura, which had before no being; and this we call creation. Locke.

table by the side of the altar or communion table, on which the bread and wine are placed before being consecrated.

Flying in the twilight or evening, or before sunrise; -- said certain birds and insects. Others feed only in the twilight, as bats and owls, and are called crepuscular. Whewell.

er; to fawn. When they were come up to the place where the lions were, the boys that went before were glad to cringe behind, for they were afraid of the lions. Bunyan. Sly hypocrite, . . . who more than thou Once fawned and cringed, and servilely adored Heaven's awful monarch Milton. Flatterers . . . are always bowing…

ecisive consequence; as, a fortification critically situated. Coming critically the night before the session. Bp. Burnet.

One who carries the cross before an archbishop. [Obs.]

a means of conferring blessing or preserving from evil, is very old. Schaff-Herzog Encyc. Before the cross has waned the crescent's ray. Sir W. Scott. Tis where the cross is preached. Cowper.

A subdeacon who bears a cross before an archbishop or primate on solemn occasions.

e behind the saddle. So light to the croup the fair lady he swung, So light to the saddle before her he sprung. Sir W. Scott.

al condition; refinement; culture. Italy . . . was but imperfectly reduced to cultivation before the irruption of the barbarians. Hallam.

of a bit, and capable of being drawn tightly against the lower jaw of the horse. He that before ran in the pastures wild Felt the stiff curb control his angry jaws. Drayton. By these men, religion,that should be The curb, is made the spur of tyranny. Denham.

he curled. Dryden. Curling smokes from village tops are seen. Pope. Gayly curl the waves before each dashing prow. Byron. He smiled a king of sickly smile, and curled up on the floor. Bret Harte. . 358